The Life of Lily Potter
by Bookluvr2
Summary: The life of Lily Potter, Harry Potter's daughter, at school, seems to be normal. But then she meets Isabella Riddle, the mysterious daughter of Voldemort, and she is pulled into a whirlwind of trust, friendship and hate.
1. Journey

**Hi, this is my first story, and so I really hope you like it! It's about Harry's kids when they go to school, Lily, Albus and James. I hope you like it! **

**The Journey**

Lily sighed and lent back against the itchy tartan seat, staring out of the window at the countryside rushing past.

It was early September, and Lily was finally off to Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. Her two brothers, James and Albus, had left two years ago (well, Albus, the younger one, went two years ago. James went a year before that), leaving Lily to complete boredom, and just her two parents for company.

But never mind about that, as Lily was going now. James and Albus had disappeared in opposite directions, leaving Lily with Hugo (her cousin and friend) and Mandy, some geeky girl who they had to share a compartment with, because none others were available. She had hardly spoken a word, preferring to read "A History of Lithuanian Gnomes" instead.

Hugo was okay, he was cool. But Mandy was a complete loser, with frizzy, mousey hair, stuffed into two plaits, massively thick glasses and braces which made her talk in a slurred voice.

The compartment door slid open, and Roxanne (Lily's best friend and cousin) and another girl walked in.

'Hi guys!' cried Roxanne. 'This is Jessica Richards, my next door neighbour.'

'Hi, I'm Lily, and this is Hugo, and, er, Mandy,' replied Lily.

'It's nice to meet you. I was so surprised when I got the letter. I thought it might be a hoax, but then I told Roxy here, and she said it was real. My parents are – what do you call it? Muggles,' said Jessica.

There was a little cough from behind Roxy. They turned and saw Scorpius Malfoy standing there, his upturned nose wrinkled in a look of disgust.

'I wondered what the stench was. Richards, you're stinking up the whole carriage with your Mudblood stink,' said Scorpius spitefully. The entire carriage leaped to their feet, apart from Mandy, who threw her book at Scorpius. The book missed by about a foot and a half, then smashed a window and fell out of the train, causing Mandy to burst into tears.

A fist punched into Scorpius' nose, knocking him to the floor. The lanky body of Lorcan Lovegood, and his twin, Lysander stepped over Scorpius. Lorcan was examining Scorpius' blood on his knuckles.

'You can't talk, Malfoy, as your blood is as thin as water,' laughed Lorcan.

Scorpius cursed and crawled away.

'Be careful not to trail slime!' called Lysander after him.

Lorcan turned to the compartment. 'Anyone for exploding snap?' He grinned and pulled out a set of cards.

Five games later, the food trolley came along, pushed by the same (but now ancient) witch who had pushed it in Harry's day. Everyone was ravenous, and so quickly bought everything there was to have.

Lysander and Lorcan promptly began to do dares such as eating a mould flavour Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans, swallowing a pumpkin pasty whole, and feeding a Liquorice Wand to their owls, Jackel and Hyde.

As the sky darkened and the first star appeared, Lorcan, Lysander and Hugo disappeared to change in private, while the girls pulled on their robes in the compartment.

Finally the train slowed to a creaking halt. There was chaos as everyone struggled to get off the train and onto the platform. Lily struggled with her trunk and owl, Apollo, but finally tumbled off the train and onto the platform.

'Firs' yers, over 'ere!'

Lily looked up and saw Ruben Hagrid, the son of the old Rubeus Hagrid, marching around, his lantern swinging. Hagrid had married Madame Maxine, and was now living in France, but their son had come back to be game keeper at Hogwarts.

Hagrid led them down to the lake, where a group of rowing boats were anchored.

'Right then, climb in these, five to a boat,' said Hagrid. He climbed into a boat by himself (there was no space for anyone else once he had finished). Once everyone was inside, he tapped the front of his boat with his wand, and they started zooming across the lake.

The wind was sharp that night; it blew through everyone's cloaks, apart from Hagrid, who had a moleskin coat like his father. There was nothing to look at, and Lily was feeling distinctly bored, when they skirted around the edge of a tall rock, and everyone cried out –

'Oooooooo!'

Up on top of a hill, stood a massive castle. Hogwarts. It was so huge, even at this distance you couldn't look at all of it at once. A long bridge over the lake connected it to the rest of the world, and a line of horseless carriages were slowly making their way across.

Finally, but not before Lily was tired of looking at Hogwarts, the boats moored on a small beach. The first years, slightly bedraggled from the boat ride, and the spray from the waves, stiffly climbed out and walked up to the castle.

'Come along, come along!' called Hagrid, his strides the same as five of a first years.

After a long, dark and cold climb, they reached the top of the hill. Golden lights shone out of every window in the castle.

'Wow,' whispered Roxy. 'It really is amazing.'

Lily silently nodded in agreement. Hagrid rapped three times on the door. It creaked open and Professor Longbottom, the deputy head, appeared.

'Ah Hagrid, come in,' he said, stepping back to let them pass.

'G'day, Professor,' replied Hagrid, before marching through a side door into the Great Hall.

Professor Longbottom let the first years gather around him in a group.

'It is time, for you to be sorted. The Sorting Hat is very wise, and knows the best house for you to be sorted into. May you bring honour and glory to your houses.'

He turned and led them inside.


	2. Sorting

**Sorting**

Lily stood in line, waiting to be sorted. Her heart was beating nervously. She wished and hoped that she was in Gryffindor, but had reasoned that Ravenclaw wouldn't be _too_ bad.

Finally her name was called. She climbed up onto the stage, stumbling over her robes, and sat down on the rickety old stool. She had one glimpse of the school, and then the hat dropped down over her eyes.

The hat stank of mothballs and dust. She sat in the musty darkness for a second, and then a wheezy, nasal voice spoke in her ear.

'Ah, I see. Another Potter. We have had a lot of Potter coming through. They always seem to do something big. I will be interested to see what you become. But now, your house. Well, I can see you have cleverness inside you, and bravery. You have a tendency to break rules. Well, Hufflepuff is out of the question. Ravenclaw dislikes rules breakers. So that just leaves Slytherin and Gryffindor. Well, Slytherin would be good for you. It would make you great, you know.'

'NO!' Lily shouted in her mind.

'No? Very well then, it will have to be: GRYFFIDOR!'

The last word was shouted to the audience, and Lily shakily took off the hat, and went to sit down at the cheering Gryffindor table.

Lily was just congratulating Jessica for getting into Gryffindor, when a name was called which silenced the entire hall.

'Riddle, Isabella.'

A tall girl, with pale skin, long black hair and dark eyes stood up. She was exceptionally pretty, and moved with a strange grace. She walked up to the stool and sat down. McGonagall placed the hat over her head.

The hat took a long time, longer then with Lily. Finally it shouted to the school:

"GRYFFINDOR!"

James lent across the table, and whispered in Lily's ear:

'Hey sis, you know Voldemort's real name was Tom Riddle?'

'Of course I know that! It's common knowledge!' snapped Lily.

James shrugged and Albus winked from down the table.

Just a quick moment to describe Albus and James. Albus looks like the spitting image of Harry, their dad, right down to the glasses and untidy hair. James has the same eyes and untidy hair, but his hair is auburn, and the rest of his features were Ginny's. Lily looked exactly like Ginny, apart from the fact she (Lily) has green eyes.

McGonagall had finished sorting, and was rolling up the long scroll of parchment.

Instantly food appeared on the tables, I mean, one moment the tables are clear, and then they are groaning under the weight of food. There was every kind of food you can imagine. Lily helped herself to succulent roast chicken, roast potatoes, carrots (which actually tasted delicious, instead of okay) and a number of other foods. For pudding she ate meringue, chocolate gateau, and ice-cream. By the end she was feeling distinctly full and sleepy.

McGonagall went through the 324 rules which ancient old Filch had stuffed into her hand, then a quick speech on the school, and other things. Lily lost track after the Forbidden Forest and Quidditch.

Finally the school was sent up to bed.

Lily shared a dormitory with Roxy and Jess, but also Isabella Riddle and a girl named Charlene Parker. The dormitories were in house colours, so the walls were golden – yellow, the carpet was red and the bed covers and curtains were red and gold. The beds were four posters, and the wood was carved in the shape of lions. Lions were embroidered into the pillows. Each bed had a bedside table and a wardrobe, again carved with lions.

There was a big bay window, with a seat where you could sit and read or look out on the grounds.

They were unpacking their night things, when Jess asked Isabella the question they all wanted to ask.

'Isabella, what's your father and mother like?'

Isabella paused, her back still turned to them.

'I – I don't know, they disappeared when I was small,' she replied, and then resumed packing. No one spoke of it again that night.

They all climbed into bed around eleven o'clock, but the boys had planned a dormitory raid, so they were disturbed around eleven thirty. Hugo and his friends ran in, shouting, and started hitting anyone in site with pillows. They refused to go, so the girls picked up their pillows and started hitting them back. They _still_ wouldn't go, until there was a massive flash of light, and the boys were thrown out the door, landing in a heap in the corridor.

The light had come from Isabella, who was standing on her bed, her pyjamas covered in feathers.

'Wow, well done Isabella. How did you do _that_?' said Roxy, pulling feathers from her curly blond hair.

Isabella shrugged. With another flick of her wand, the door shut. Everyone climbed back into bed, and the lights turned off.

But it was a long time till Isabella went to sleep.


	3. Typical school day right?

**First Day**

Lily sat bolt upright the next morning, for a second wondering where she was. Then she saw the four poster bed, the curtains, and the glimpse of the dormitory through the gap in the hangings, and she realised.

Happily, she pulled open the curtains. Jess and Isabella were already up, Mandy was just disappearing though the door, her arms full with a pile of books, and Roxy was nothing more than a lump under her bed covers.

'Is Roxy dead or something?' asked Lily jokily. She bent over Roxy and quickly shook her. Roxy batted her away, so she stripped the covers off her.

Roxy scowled, but rolled out of bed and started brushing her curly blond hair.

'I hate you, Potter,' she growled, making Lily laugh.

Isabella looked up curiously.

'Your father is Harry Potter?' she asked.

'Er – yeah, he is,' replied Lily sheepishly.

'Wow! You're so lucky to have a famous father!' cried Jess.

'Nah, it's a curse. Everyone wants you to be as good as he is, and if you are, it's no big deal, because he is just as good. I mean, he defeated Voldemort, for crying out loud!' sighed Lily, buttoning up her robes.

'Hurry up Roxy!' cried Jess, throwing Roxy's robes at her. Roxy stuck her tongue out at her, but quickly pulled on the rest of her clothes.

Finally they were all ready, and went down to breakfast.

The great hall was packed with breakfast of every kind. Great piles of toast, tureens of porridge, every kind of jam or breakfast cereal you can think of, including some magical ones, like Magipops, little creature shaped cereals which whizzed around your bowl, changing colour and flavour.

Lily sat down next to Hugo, who was chasing Magipops around his bowl.

'Come on!' he growled, then stabbed a Magipop with his spoon, making the tiny gnome shape squeal and explode in colour. Sighing, he tried scooping up and eating Magipops so fast they couldn't jump off his spoon. Sadly, this didn't work, either. He just got very messy, and didn't eat anything.

'Silly, you have to do it this way!' scolded Rose, his older sister. She pulled out her wand and cried:

'Petrificus Totalus!'

The Magipops instantly stopped moving, and Hugo was able to eat normally. Rose rolled her eyes, siphoned spilt milk off his robes, and went back to reading while she ate.

Lily and her friends giggled. They all had the same lessons, and the first double period was Transfiguration. After a short break they had their first Flying lesson (sadly with the Slytherins), which they were all looking forward to, apart from Mandy, who went green at the thought.

Stern Professor McGonagall still taught Transfiguration, and as soon as the class was silent, gave them a lecture on her subject.

'Transfiguration is possibly one of the most important things you will learn here, at Hogwarts. I have taught it for the past thirty years, and I still don't completely know everything. Transfiguration is complex, tricky; it takes a lot of mind power. It will take you years to go from transfiguring this (she changed a quill into a butter knife), to this (she changed the entire classroom's desks into sheep and back).'

The class stared, wide-eyed.

'Well, get going then!'

It was soon found that Transfiguration was harder then it looked. McGonagall gave them each a match stick, and told them to turn it into a needle.

It was found that Roxy seemed to have a talent for Transfiguration. By the end of the lesson her match stick had gone all silver and pointed. Roxy earned herself a rare smile from McGonagall and ten points for Gryffindor.

After the bell they rushed outside to the Quidditch pitch. Professor Johnson was waiting there, putting broomsticks in two rows. She had played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team when she was at school, and had decided to stay on as Quidditch coach at Hogwarts.

She took the register first thing, and paused at Lily's name.

'Ah, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's daughter. They were both fine Quidditch players, I will be interested to see how you become. Your brothers are both very good. James is seeker, and Albus is keeper, and since they joined we have not lost one match!'

Scorpius bristled angrily. 'Do you not remember my father, Draco Malfoy? Wasn't he seeker for Slytherin in his day?'

'Yes, I remember him. I always thought that he bought his way onto the team, but don't mind me! Anyway, let's see how you fly!'

Professor Johnson put them through a number of drills, in each position. She often asked Lily to be chaser, and in the end dispatched Mandy (who had refused to go higher than three feet off the ground) to fetch Albus for them. A few minutes later Albus appeared, carrying his Firebolt 270 over his shoulder.

'Hi Prof. Johnson,' he called. 'What would you like me to do?'

'I think I have found Gryffindor a new chaser. Would you like to try her out?' said Professor Johnson. Albus smiled, pushed his glasses up his nose, and climbed onto his broomstick.

Lily scored ten out of ten goals, and by the end had everyone cheering for her, apart from the sulking Slytherins.

'I think we have found our third chaser!' called Prof. Johnson, clapping as Lily spectacularly double bluffed Albus. They flew to the ground, and Lily was transported by a crowd of happy Gryffindors back to the common room.


	4. Isabella

**Isabella**

The weeks went on, and Lily steadily got to know Jess and Isabella more. Jess was easy going, she laughed easily and was funny and bubbly. Isabella was quieter, but she was extremely good at magic. She excelled in all subjects, but mostly Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Isabella was settling in fast, when an incident happened which changed her life forever. They were queuing outside the Charms classroom, when a group of Slytherins (Scorpius included) walked past. They stopped when they got to Isabella, and one called:

'Hey, Isabella, when are you going to make a Horcruxe, like your father did? Maybe you should beat his record of killing as well!'

Isabella gasped. She went from white to red then back to white. Her eyes filled with tears, and she ran off, towards the library.

The Slytherins sniggered, and carried on their way. Lily, Jess and Roxy glanced at each other, and then tore off after Isabella.

They reached the Library, as they had thought. Quietly, they searched through all the alcoves and corridors of bookshelves. Isabella was sitting in the far corner, in a window seat, with a massive volume on her lap. Tears silently ran down her pale cheeks, and her hand trembled has she turned the pages.

She looked up, slamming the book shut when she saw them. An explosion of dust came from the book.

'What do you want?' she half sobbed, half shouted.

'Isabella, what's wrong?' asked Jess, going up to her.

'You know what's wrong! You heard that Slytherin.'

'Isabella, I don't understand,' said Jess.

'They understand. They have magical parents. They have grown up knowing who my _father_ is.'

Jess still looked confused, so Isabella opened her book again. She traced a pale finger down a long list of names.

'This is a list of everyone who came to Hogwarts. There is only one person with the surname Riddle. Tom Riddle, who soon became known to the world, as Voldemort. He is my father,' said Isabella, more tears running down her cheeks, falling onto the yellowed parchment.

'Are you sure your parents weren't Muggles?' asked Roxy.

'The orphanage, where I grew up, would have known who my parents were, if they were Muggles. No, my father is, was, a wizard, and he was called Tom Voldemort Riddle.'

'Oh Isabella!' cried Lily, hugging her tightly.

'Do you still want to be friends with me, knowing who my father was?' asked Isabella tentatively.

'Of course we want to be your friends!' said Jess.

'We don't care who your parents were, we just care about what you are like. And you are one of the nicest, cleverest, kindest people we know. So don't feel down about your dad, he's dead and gone and can't trouble you ever again,' said Lily.

Isabella cracked a smile for the first time.

'Come on, let's skip Charms, and go and sit by the lake,' said Roxy, taking away the book and putting it up on a shelf.

'My parents have just sent me my new Firebolt 360, can I try it out while we are there?' asked Lily.

'Sure.'

**Sorry it's a short chapter, but I hope you liked it! I'm going to try and make Isabella more of a character. Please, please, please review, and I will try and write more soon. **


	5. The Quidditch Match

**The Match**

James pulled on his Quidditch robes. It was about quarter of an hour before the first match, Gryffindor against Slytherin.

Michael Bell, son of Katie Bell, was already ready. He paced up and down, muttering under his breath.

James, Albus and Lily all stood in a row. The rest of the team was made up of Lorcan and Lysander as Beaters, and Michael and a girl named Laura Parkinson as the other two chasers.

'Okay team,' said Michael when the team was ready. 'This is it. The first match of the season. We need to win this to have a good chance for the cup. We have one it last year and I don't want to lose it now!'

'Relax, Mike,' replied Lysander. 'You've put together a great team; we've won every match so far.'

'We can't get to cocky!' snapped Michael. 'We can't just –

A bugle blew out, vibrating the changing room. As if on cue, the team lined up, put their brooms over their shoulders, and marched out onto the pitch.

The stands roared, waving banners and flags, or (in Slytherins case) booing and hissing. Slytherin was already outside, and Prof. Johnson was opening the case of Quidditch balls.

'Okay teams,' she said. 'I want a nice, clean game. This is only the first match, so you don't need to play dirty until the final.' She smiled, and blew her whistle, letting the Quidditch balls free with a sweep of her wand.

The two teams flew up into the air. Albus and the Slytherin keeper flew to the goal hoops, Lily flew after the red Quaffle.

James scoured the pitch for the snitch. It was nowhere in sight, so he decided to amuse himself by annoying Zabini, the Slytherin seeker, by flying loop the loops around him.

'Cut it out, Potter!' he yelled as James narrowly missed him. James just winked. Suddenly someone screamed. James looked up, and saw Laura pointing to Lily. Lily had the Quaffle, and was zooming towards the Slytherin's goal, but was being pursued by the two Slytherin beaters.

Lily had a look of utmost concentration, and only noticed the beaters as they converged on either side of her, blocking her from moving or throwing the Quaffle.

Lorcan and Lysander had noticed what was happening. As the Slytherins raised their bats to hit Lily, the twins simultaneously hit the two Bludgers straight at the opposing beaters.

The two Bludgers hit the beaters squarely in the back, almost knocking them off their brooms. Lily smiled, gestured thanks to Lorcan and Lysander, before scoring an amazing goal.

'100 – 20 to Gryffindor, after a spectacular goal from L Potter. Honestly, those three are taking over the Quidditch team. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of them played for England when they left. Oh, and is that the snitch?' shouted Zach Jordan.

James had noticed the snitch in the middle of the pitch, around level with the goal hoops. He flew straight upwards, his hand outstretched for the snitch –

CRASH! Zabini had flown straight into James, knocking him away. He spiralled off-course, and by the time he recovered, the snitch had disappeared.

'What was _that_?' yelled Zach. 'That disgusting cheater! So after that obvious foul, a penalty to Gryffindor. Laura takes it...and she scores! 110 – 20 to Gryffindor. Oh, and what's this? Could it be the snitch?'

James was diving towards the ground, as if he had seen the snitch. In fact, he hadn't seen it at all, but he was trying to get rid of Zabini. So he speeded down, Zabini following, and at the last moment pulled his broom upwards and flew off. Zabini wasn't so fast, and piled into the ground.

'And J Potter has just demonstrated perfectly the famous Wronski Feint. Ouch, the must have hurt Zabini, but no more then you deserved,' shouted Zach.

Ancient Madame Pomfrey was cleaning up Zabini. Zabini impatiently pushed her away, pointed his wand at his nose, and climbed onto his broomstick.

'And the match resumes as Zabini is back in the air. Zabini let that be a lesson to you. Never mess around a Potter!' laughed Zach.

One of the Slytherin chasers, Flint, had caught the Quaffle, and was currently speeding towards Albus at the goal posts. Flint smiled, and double –bluffed Albus. The crowd groaned as Albus shot off in the wrong direction, and then cheered as Albus spun round and spectacularly caught the Quaffle on the tips of his fingers. He punched the air, and then threw the Quaffle to Mike.

Mike scored, and then the ball went to Slytherin. As Montague speeded towards the goal posts, a Slytherin beater whacked a Bludger straight at Albus. It hit him in the stomach, winding him. Albus collapsed onto his broomstick, unable to breath. Montague scored, as Albus half fell off his broomstick. Lorcan and Lysander had to carry him back down to the ground.

Even after Madame Pomfrey had healed Albus, James knew he wouldn't be as good as before. James caught Lily's eye, and saw his worry reflected in her eyes.

As soon as the whistle blew, James tried his hardest to find the snitch and end the game. After five minutes of looking, and one goal to Slytherin, he spotted it. It was circling a goal post, and James shot towards it, spun round the middle post and caught it before Zabini had even registered what had happened.

He was doing a lap of honour around the pitch, when he heard the wind whistle behind him. He turned just in time to see a Bludger crash straight into his forehead.

His vision turned black, and he fell to the ground unconscious, but still clutching the snitch.

**I hope you like it! Sorry it's really short, but there's only so much you can write about Quidditch. I'm going away for the next few days, so I can't update till Saturday. Please, please review.**

**Bookluvr2 x x x **


	6. Trials and Tribulations

**Trials and Tribulations**

Lily sat next to James's bed, playing Exploding Snap with Albus. James was still unconscious, and Lily and Albus spent much of their day hanging around the Hospital Wing, waiting for him to wake up.

They had been let off all lessons, because they spent the entire time thinking and worrying about James, and not concentrating on the teacher. So they were let out of lessons until James woke up, but had to stay in the Hospital Wing for most of the day, and still had to study.

After a particularly loud explosion, a muffled murmur came from James. Instantly Albus and Lily jumped off the bed where they had been sitting, staring at their brother.

James blinked open his eyes, looking around groggily.

'Hey bro,' said Albus, smiling and dangling a sweet above James's head.

'Wazgoinon?' asked James sleepily.

'You're in the Hospital Wing, after being knocked out by a Bludger and falling thirty feet,' replied Lily.

Madame Pomfrey appeared, holding a goblet of smoking amber potion.

'Drink this, Mr Potter, and you'll feel much better,' she said, placing it on his bedside table. She had some trouble, seeing as the table was already littered with sweets, get well cards and flowers. In the end she handed it to Albus, who forced James to drink it.

James coughed and spluttered, cursing Madame Pomfrey, but he did look better, and had lost the grogginess.

'So, what happened?' asked James, fiddling with a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

'Like I said, you were knocked from your broom and fell thirty feet. You caught the snitch though,' said Lily, pointing to a now limp snitch amongst the chaos of James's bedside table.

'Cool,' replied James.

The next few days passed without problems to do with Isabella, apart from the odd hard look or occasionally, glare. James left the Hospital Wing a couple of days after waking up, basking in the glory of being knocked of his broom and still catching the snitch. Lily liked most people she knew, apart from Scorpius and his gang.

On the Friday after the match, Lily, Isabella and friends were lounging around by the lake, under a willow tree they favoured. Scorpius marched up, followed by his little gang. His face had a spiteful look which put Lily on edge.

'So, Potter,' he called from a distance. 'How do you feel about hanging out with the daughter of the most evil wizard ever known?'

Isabella gasped, tears pricking her eyes. Lily scowled, and called back:

'How do you feel about being the grandson of a Death Eater?'

Scorpius narrowed his eyes, and walked off, muttering to Zabini.

Isabella hardly spoke for the rest of the day.

Charlene, the girl in Lily's dormitory, was totally obsessed with boys and girly stuff, but seemed quite nice apart from that.

That was, until two weeks after Isabella had found out whom her father was. Charlene had acted steadily colder and ruder to Isabella, until one day Lily, Roxy and Jess walked into their dorm to find a fully fledged duel going on.

Isabella and Charlene were standing on their beds, their covers all messed up. Isabella's hangings had all been ripped down, and Charlene's were blackened and smoking.

'I always knew something was wrong about you!' screeched Charlene, waving her wand and causing Jess' bed to set on fire.

'I can't help who my father is!' yelled Isabella, blasting Charlene with a jet of light, making her fly backwards, taking out her bedside table of makeup, and landing in a heap on Lily's bed, smashing her head against a bedpost. All the makeup smashed, the colours mixing together, causing Charlene to burst into tears.

'You're horrid!' screamed Charlene, a fair sized lump forming on her head. 'You'll turn out to be just like your father!' Another flash of light, and Isabella flew into the wall, ripping Roxy's Hollyhead Harpies poster in two.

'You prejudiced cow!' shouted Isabella. 'Do you think I _want _to have him as a _father_?'

At that moment McGonagall walked in, followed by a group of scared looking girls. Charlene and Isabella, who had just leaped at each other, screeching and bitch fighting, were blown apart by a flash of light and a wave of McGonagall's wand.

'What on earth is going on here?' thundered McGonagall. Isabella and Charlene roughly got to their feet, scowling at each other.

'If looks could kill,' muttered Roxy to Lily and Jess.

'You two can come straight away to my office,' snapped McGonagall. 'You three as well! I have something I want to discuss with you,' she said to Lily, Jess and Roxy, pointing her wand at them.

Lily, Roxy and Jess waited for ages outside McGonagall's office, chatting to a portrait on the wall. By the time Charlene and Isabella had come out, both looking very embarrassed, the portrait had told them his entire childhood.

'What happened?' asked Jess.

'It was awful. Detention for a month, and twenty house points taken each,' groaned Isabella.

'Isabella, I'm so sorry, I was a pig, I didn't think. Can you forgive me?' cried Charlene, hugging Isabella.

'Of course I forgive you,' replied Isabella, smiling and returning the hug. The two girls linked arms and disappeared down the spiral staircase. The other three looked at each other and entered the Headmistress's office.

McGonagall was sitting at her desk, conversing with the portrait of the late Dumbledore above her head.

'But the girl...' she stopped when she saw they had entered the room. Dumbledore smiled and winked at them.

'Ah, Potter, Weasley and Richards,' she said sternly. 'Sit down. I want to discuss with you the problem of Isabella Riddle.' The three girls looked at each other briefly.

'Yes, I see you know about Riddle's parentage, and she does too. Maxwell Flint was right – Isabella's father is the late Tom Riddle. I was wondering, as you three seem to be her closest friends, what you think we should do about this problem. I can assure you, that if the news that a child is walking this planet with Tom Riddle's blood inside her, then not only will parents want to take their children away from Hogwarts, many people would want her dead,' said McGonagall.

'Is there any way we can stop students from telling their parents about Isabella's father?' asked Jess.

'There are certain ways. Miss Potter, maybe you could tell us,' said McGonagall.

Lily racked her brains, trying to remember from past lessons and books.

'We could... modify their memories, or put them under an Unbreakable Vow never to tell a soul about Isabella, unless it would save her life,' replied Lily.

'Indeed, those are the main ways. Which do you think would be better?' asked McGonagall.

'Modifying the memories,' said Roxy. 'Kinder and better, as the students simply wouldn't know. Also, we can destroy any evidence that Tom Riddle came to this school, or add another name to the lists of students, so that people think that the extra name is Isabella's parent.'

'I agree with Weasley. The process will be rather long, but it is essential for Isabella Riddle's safety that we do it. Please could you three go back and collect Riddle and Charlene Parker please. Also any students you meet along the way who knows about Isabella Riddle's parentage. Bring them here,' said McGonagall, smiling for the first time at the girls.

The girls left the office and went to look for Isabella and Charlene. They found them in the common room, and also picked up the group of girls who had heard Isabella and Charlene's argument, and a couple of boys who had been in the library and heard when Isabella had shown Jess, Roxy and Lily who her dad was.

The group lined up outside McGonagall's office, and one by one they were called in. Each one came out with a faintly dreamy look on their faces. Isabella was last, and when she was asked who her father was, replied:

'I don't know, Jess! I've already told you, my parents disappeared when I was a baby!'


	7. Adoption

**Adoption**

The problem of Isabella's parentage had been sorted out – no one in the school knew about Isabella's dad, apart from McGonagall and Lily, Roxy and Jess who had decided not to have their memories modified.

Another problem arose though. Isabella refused to go back to the orphanage where she grew up. Most of the children were younger than her, as children over eleven were quickly sent to different orphanages or schools. None of the younger children liked her, they were mostly scared of her, and the ones who weren't tormented her endlessly.

So she refused to go back. When McGonagall talked to her about it, she almost cried at the thought of spending two months in that dingy place, without any friends.

Professor Longbottom, the Herbology teacher, came up with the idea of adoption. McGonagall agreed to the idea, and Isabella knew it was the best way for her to live somewhere other than the orphanage.

McGonagall found a list of every couple or family looking for adoption. She gave the list to Isabella, and told her to do some bedtime reading.

Isabella did just that. In the evening, in their dormitory, she read aloud the list to the other four girls, to see what their opinion was.

'Look at this one,' she said. 'Mrs Crumplebottom, 92, wishes to adopt a six year old boy, preferably with blond and curly hair, blue eyes and good manners. Do you really think she wants _me_? Or that I want to live with _her_? What was McGonagall thinking?'

'I dunno Isabella; I think you're a perfect match,' replied Roxy, looking at the picture of Mrs Crumplebottom, a warty hag.

'Okay, who's next?' asked Lily.

'Mr and Mrs Caster, 24 and 26, wish to adopt a pretty girl, preferably nice and sweet, and over the age of eight. The child must have nice manners, be able to eat nicely and be potty trained. Mr Caster is Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Mrs Caster is an ex Witchway model. They live in a country mansion in Somerset,' read Isabella.

'Oo I'd take those two!' said Charlene from across the room.

'No way, they probably want a child, but don't want all the bad and smelly bits from when the child is younger or any bad and smelly bits at all!' cried Lily.

At that moment a prefect poked her head in and told them to go to sleep or she would deduct house points, so the adoption list was put to the side for the night.

The next morning Lily woke up to see Isabella already awake, and reading the adoption list. Sleepily she rolled over onto her side to look at her alarm clock. It read 5:30am.

'Jesus, Isabella!' cried Lily. 'How long have you been up?'

Isabella shrugged, still staring at the adoption list. She sighed.

'There's no one here who I like. This idea is stupid; I can't pick parents off a list. I'll just have to wait and see what happens.'

'Oh, don't worry Isabella,' replied Lily comfortingly.

'Yeah...' said Isabella sadly. 'What're you doing for Christmas?'

'I'll probably go home...' Lily trailed off when she realised that Isabella didn't have a home to go to.

'That's cool. I'll just spend Christmas here,' replied Isabella.

'It's okay; I'll spend Christmas here with you. I don't really want to spend more time with my pesky bros,' said Lily.

'Or, even better, you could come home with me or Lily in the Christmas Holidays!' said Roxy, sitting up and pushing her hair off her face.

'Yeah, that'll be really great, as then I don't have to be alone at Hogwarts for Christmas,' said Isabella happily.

'What's going on?' asked Jess.

'Isabella's coming to me and Roxy's houses for Christmas!' replied Lily.

'Really? Oh congrats!' cried Jess.

Transfiguration was their first subject that day, so Isabella was able to give back the list and say that she would have to find parents another way.

The Christmas Holidays were soon upon them, and most people were packing their trunks and getting ready to go home.

Isabella, who packed her trunk two weeks before the end of term, spent much of her spare time with Roxy and Lily while they packed, learning about each other's families.

'Isabella, what's the orphanage like?' asked Roxy.

Isabella shivered. 'It's the darkest, most dingy place you could dream of. Everything is grey or navy, and it's all old and falling apart. I'll describe my bedroom. The walls were navy blue, and the carpet may have been coloured once, but it had faded to grey long before I came. My bed was iron, with rusty spring that squeaked when you moved. The mattress was hard and thin, infested with all sorts of bugs, and springs which stuck in your back. The covers were moth eaten khaki wool.'

'That is a pretty nasty place,' murmured Lily, pulling her head out from under her bed to listen.

'You have no idea. Of course, I was also a weirdo. The woman who owned it was a cow, always giving me horrible chores and making out that I was different. Then when I came here, she said that I had gone off to a special boarding school, for young children who had problems, and were "different",' sighed Isabella.

'I can see why you refuse to go back. I couldn't live there,' said Roxy.

'Ever since I could remember, I have had dreams about my long lost parents or relatives coming and sweeping me away. When I was little they were rich super stars, or, when I was _really_ little, kings and queens. Now I know I have no relatives,' murmured Isabella. Roxy and Lily looked at each other. They knew exactly who Isabella's relatives were, and they knew that they would not be coming to sweep her away, and it was vital that Isabella did not find out who they were.

'Come on, I'm starving – lets go down to lunch,' said Lily, quickly changing the subject.


	8. Christmas

**Christmas**

The train steamed to a halt, smoke flying past the windows. Finally it cleared, and Mum, Dad and Lily's adopted brother, Teddy Lupin, came into view.

Teddy was the son of the late Remus Lupin and Dora Tonks (Tonks preferred to be known by her last name). Teddy was twenty two, and working for the Ministry of Magic as an Auror. He was very unusual, as he was half werewolf, and also a Metamorphagus. At the moment his hair was electric blue, and spiky so it stuck straight out.

'Is that your family?' asked Isabella.

Lily looked down from pulling her trunk off the shelf, and out the window.

'Yeah, that's them. The guy with the blue hair is Teddy, he's a Metamorphagus. He's my dad's godson. Teddy's parents died when he was a baby, and Mum and Dad adopted him when he was, like, five or something? He's way older than me. Come on, let's go, the train's emptying,' she replied.

Isabella nodded, and followed Lily out the train. Harry, Ginny and Teddy greeted them both warmly, though Harry was a bit silent when Lily told him Isabella's surname.

James and Albus chattered all the way back about the Quidditch match, and their chances with the next one – Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff.

'Hufflepuff is a terrible team, and we steamrollered Slytherin,' said James excitedly.

'I wouldn't count your eggs before they're hatched, son,' replied Harry from the front passenger seat (Ginny wouldn't let him drive, saying that he took after the Knight Bus).

'Isabella, what do you like to do?' asked Ginny.

'I actually really like to do magic,' said Isabella shyly.

'She's really good at it as well,' said Lily, smiling as Isabella blushed.

'What's your favourite subject, Isabella?' asked Harry.

'Defence Against the Dark Arts,' said Isabella immediately. Lily saw Harry glance at her again, an odd expression on his face.

The next day, all the Weasleys met up at Ron and Hermione's house next door to the Potters. Even in Ron and Hermione's house, which was quite big, it was a tight squeeze.

Isabella liked all the Weasleys, but she took a particular liking to Charlie. Charlie seemed to like her very much, and soon they were chatting away like the best of friends. Charlie was regaling her about the troubles of Norberta, Hagrid's old dragon, when Harry pulled Lily away, into the hall. Lily knew what was coming next.

'Lils,' said Harry slowly. 'What do you know about Isabella?'

Lily sighed. 'I know what you're thinking Dad. And yes, you're right. Isabella is Voldemort's daughter. But she isn't in any way like Voldemort. She's one of my best friends. She doesn't even know who her father is. She found out, yes, but McGonagall decided to modify her memory, and every person who knew about her father had their memory modified too, so there's no reason to worry,' she replied defensively.

'I know darling, but it's hard to accept that,' said Harry, tiredly running his hands through his hair.

'Please try Dad, she's my friend,' pleaded Lily.

At that moment Teddy appeared, asking why they had left the sitting room, so the conversation had to stop.

For the rest of the holidays, Harry treated Isabella like he would with any of his children's friends. He did seem to be brooding over something, and when Lily asked him when they were alone together again, he wouldn't tell her.

Isabella continued to take a particular liking to Charlie. She learnt that he had married two years ago, to a woman named Verity, but sadly they were both too old to have children. She also learnt all about his travels, working with dragons and his current job as Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts. He learnt about her life, and the fact that she was looking for a family to adopt her.

Lily woke up on Christmas day to see a large pile of presents at the end of her bed. She woke up Isabella with a quick flash of light from her wand, and then they both opened their presents.

Lily received a Broomstick Care Kit from Harry and Ginny, a huge box of tricks and jokes from Uncle George, a large box of toffee and a jumper from Grandpa and Grandma Weasley. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione sent her a set of mini English Quidditch Players (complete with broomsticks. You can also collect other teams, and a Quidditch pitch. Then you can play matches with another person by shouting out orders for the players). Jess sent her a box of Muggle sweets, and Roxy sent her a new stationary set, with much wanted colour changing ink and pheasant quill.

Isabella was given an Encyclopaedia of Spells from Harry and Ginny (Lily wasn't keen on it, but Isabella loved it, as she could learn more spells which the teachers couldn't be bothered to teach her). Charlie gave a breed your own dragons set, which was a box of mini dragons, all very much like the real versions, except they could fit on your palm, and a fold out park to put them in. The aim was to look after the dragons, and try and make them breed, but not kill each other (the two things were very similar for dragons, as they would all fight for mates). Lily Grandparents sent her a large box of fudge and a jumper like Lily's. George also sent her a box of jokes and tricks. Jess sent her a box of Muggle chocolates, and Roxy sent her a new chess set (Isabella was very good; she had won their dorm's mini tournament).

On Boxing Day Isabella went to Roxy's house, and from then on the holidays were pretty boring for Lily, except for when her and James used some of their tricks on Albus, and managed to turn him into a purple canary (they combined canary creams with blueberry blows).

Finally the last day of the holidays came, and the luggage was all packed into the boot of the car. Lily found her friends at Platform 9 ¾, and disappeared off with them.

Harry watched her go, a number of things flying through his head. He frowned, watching as the train wound off out of sight. He turned and Apparated on the spot.


	9. The curse

**The Curse**

With a loud pop, Harry appeared at the school gates of Hogwarts. A lantern bobbed in the darkness, coming towards him. It was Mr Carthill, the school gatekeeper.

'Hullo, Potter. What would you be doing at Hogwarts then?' asked Carthill, swinging his lantern in Harry's face.

'I'm here to seek an audience with Professor Dumbledore's portrait, please,' replied Harry. Carthill nodded, and the gates creaked open.

Harry slipped through, and went up to the castle. It felt odd to go through the familiar grounds, along the well known corridors. He felt like a child again, off to his next lesson.

He reached the gargoyle guarding McGonagall's office, at the same time as McGonagall came down.

'Ah, Potter. I wondered when you would come back. The password's Cauldron Cakes. Now, I must go get ready for the feast. Peaves has been in the kitchens again,' she nodded to Harry, and then bustled off down the staircase.

Harry spoke the password to the gargoyle, and jumped onto the spinning staircase.

The office was very similar to when Dumbledore had had it. Fawkes was there, on his same old perch. Dumbledore was up above the desk. He smiled and greeted Harry, waving and nodding cordially.

'Hello Harry. How nice to see you again! What would you like to ask me?' he called.

Harry smiled, and took a seat in front of him. 'Professor, it's a very complicated problem. You see, my daughter has made friends with a girl called Isabella Riddle, who is –

'Voldemort's daughter, yes. Professor McGonagall told me all about it.'

'Yes, well, I'm not worried about Lily being friends with her; she explained that all to me. What I'm confused about is the fact that Isabella is little over a decade younger then she should be!' replied Harry.

'Ah, yes, I wondered when this would come up. Well, you see, Isabella was born in your fifth year. I think that Voldemort most probably raped her. She found out that he was back, most probably when Isabella was conceived, and when Isabella was born, came up with a plan to conceal her. She was desperate for Isabella not to be found, and so went to her grandfather, a very old, wise, wizard. She begged the wizard to put a spell on her, a spell which stopped Isabella from aging,' said Dumbledore.

'She stopped a newborn baby from aging? So Isabella was just stuck like that?' cried Harry in horror.

'Yes, but remember Harry, Isabella's mother was panicking. She knew that if Voldemort found that he had a child, he would definitely take the child, and use her to his own advantages,' replied Dumbledore calmly.

'Yes... how and when was the curse lifted?' asked Harry.

'The curse was lifted around a month after Lily, your daughter, was born. It was lifted so long after Voldemort died, because a complication arose. The wise old wizard, who had put the curse upon Isabella, died. He was the only person who knew about the curse, and how to lift it. The mother also knew about the curse, but couldn't lift it.'

'So Isabella was just stuck like that?' said Harry.

'I am afraid so. For little over a decade, Isabella stayed as a newborn baby. The mother spent the years searching for a way to lift the curse. Finally she found it. She lifted the curse, but in doing so, she expended so much energy, that she died. Isabella was sent to the same orphanage as her father, and lived the next ten years of her life there, not knowing that she was ten years older then she actually was,' said Dumbledore.

'I understand now,' replied Harry.

'Yes. Now, it is almost time for the feast, so you must go. I hope to speak to you soon,' Dumbledore said, smiling and waving goodbye to Harry.

Harry nodded, and left the room.

**Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I hope you liked it! I will write more soon. **

**Bookluvr2**


	10. Matches and Misfortune

**Matches and Misfortune**

Gryffindor won the next two matches against Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, as did Slytherin, so they were now facing each other in the final.

In the few weeks leading up to the final, a lot of students, mainly Gryffindor against Slytherin, started getting into duels. Slytherins kept trying to jinx Gryffindors (mainly those on the team) and the Gryffindors would retaliate in kind.

There was one incident, which ended up with Laura Parkinson's nose hair growing at an alarming rate, and Zabini turning fluorescent green (he looked remarkably like a frog, but fluorescent).

A fortnight before the match, a fight arose which was the biggest yet. Montague tried to hex Lorcan, so both twins tried to jinx him, then Zabini joined in, so James started as well, and then Malfoy hexed Lysander, and was jinxed by Lorcan. It ended up with about ten students on either side, cursing or hexing each other.

Lily and her friends tried to stop the fight, but everyone ignored them. In the end Roxy went in the middle of the group, and tried to calm them down. The Gryffindors stopped, but the Slytherins just carried on. Roxy got caught in the middle of the spells. She ended up being hit by about ten different hexes, causing her to collapse on the floor, out cold.

No one was sure what exactly hit her, but the combination wasn't good. Her entire body turned into one big rash, her face swelled, and she seemed to have a huge pressure on her. No one knew how to stop the pressure, and before a teacher got on the scene, Roxy had a broken leg, three broken ribs and a fractured collarbone and skull. Multiple gashes appeared on her arms and chest.

The entire group of Gryffindors converged on the Slytherins, and were quickly joined by some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Professors McGonagall, Longbottom and Weasley had to fire several fireworks and spells from their wands to break up the crowd.

Roxy was transported to the Hospital Wing by Longbottom and Weasley, while McGonagall handed out detentions like they were cookies.

Lily, Jess and Isabella were forced to sit behind the curtain which Madame Pomfrey drew around Roxy's bed while she examined her. After a tense few minutes, Madame Pomfrey appeared. She looked worried but hopeful, and told them:

'Her condition is stable. The spells didn't do her any good, but she's on the mend. She is still unconscious, but may wake up tomorrow. You three should go back to your lessons, as there is nothing you can do.'

The three girls sighed and reluctantly went back to their lessons.

Roxy didn't wake up the next day, or the next, or, indeed, until a week later. By then her friends were worried out of their wits and ecstatic when she came round. Her rash had gone down, as had the swelling. The gashes were close to being healed, and then next day she could hobble around on crutches.

The final match was looming, and Lily was forced to push her worries about Roxy from her mind. She trained very hard, spending most of the week leading up to the match training, as both teams had been let off school.

She woke up early in the morning of the match. She pulled on her robes, finding that things like socks could be very tricky to get on. Finally she got everything on properly, and then went downstairs to find the rest of the team already in the Great Hall. She forced down a slice of toast, which seemed to have the consistency of carpet.

Finally Mike said:

'Okay team, changing rooms.'

Mike did his usual pep talk, while the team pulled on their Quidditch kit.

'Okay, just a few pointers for all of you,' he said. 'Albus, watch out for Bludgers!' Albus grinned, understanding, and rubbing the spot where the Bludger last hit. 'James, similar thing, it's okay to be knocked out after you've got the snitch, but please not before!' He gave a few other tips, and then a bugle blew for them to go out.

The teams lined up opposite each other, Mike and the Slytherin captain, Flint, shook hands, scowling and crushing each other's hands.

'If looks could kill...' thought Lily, smiling to herself.

Prof. Johnson blew her whistle, letting out the balls.

Lily immediately caught the Quaffle while zooming towards the goal hoops. She scored within the first thirty seconds, followed by another two from Mike and a fourth from Laura. Slytherin attempted to score three times, but never got past Albus.

James, meanwhile, was flying around the pitch, looking out for the snitch. So far, it was hiding somewhere out of sight, but James kept looking.

Forty minutes later, and no luck with the snitch. The score was now 90 –20 to Gryffindor, but if James didn't catch the snitch soon, then Slytherin could easily win.

Zach mean while, was trying his hardest not to be biased. And failing miserably.

'And here we have Potter, excellent player, as are his two siblings, making almost half the Gryffindor team related. And with parents like they have, who would expect it?' he yelled, getting cheers from the Gryffindor crowd.

James spotted a flash of gold at the other end of the pitch. He streaked towards it. Zabini had spotted it to – they were neck and neck! James reached out, his fingers inches from the ball –

There was a thud and a colossal crack as a Bludger smashed into James's arm. He was pushed off his broom, into Zabini, and they tumbled a few feet onto the ground. The snitch disappeared from sight.

Prof. Johnson landed next to James, who was sitting white faced on the floor. Albus and Lily landed too, and knelt next to him. The game had stopped for a few minutes while Madame Pomfrey sorted out James.

'Come on, give me your arm,' said Madame Pomfrey. James, gritting his teeth, obediently held up his arm using his other hand, as the broken arm was limp and bent the wrong way. Madame Pomfrey tapped his elbow with her wand. James felt a burning sensation, and the pain disappeared. Smiling, James lifted his arm and bent it forwards and backwards without a problem.

'Thanks!' he said. Standing up and taking his broom from Lysander, who had picked it up off the ground before any Slytherins got to it and "accidently" sabotaged it.

'Wait, Potter!' cried Madame Pomfrey suddenly. She pulled a bottle of purple liquid from her bag. 'You need to take this; it will stop you from fainting when you get in the air.'

'I'm not gonna faint!' said James incredulously. 'I'm fine!'

'It's the adrenaline!' persisted Madame Pomfrey.

'Just drink it James, it won't do you any harm,' called Lorcan from somewhere above them. Sighing, James pulled the cork off the bottle and drank it. It burned James's throat, making his cough and splutter, but once he had finished it he felt much stronger and better.

'You look much less peaky,' commented Lily.

'Good, now let's go!' replied James, jumping onto his broom and streaking into the air.

Less than five minutes later, James had seen the snitch. He dived towards the ground, catching the snitch at the last second then returning to match height.

The Quidditch team converged on James, hugging him in midair and carrying him down to the ground. James was carried back to the common room on the shoulders of the Gryffindors, all cheering.

Lorcan and Lysander had got hold of a immense stack of food from the kitchen, and also had a load of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products, which were set on unsuspecting targets for most of the party, which lasted until three in the morning, when Longbottom appeared in stripped pyjamas and a matching nightcap, to order them all to bed immediately, or he would give everyone a detention.

Lily went happily to bed, where she fell asleep almost immediately, and had a wonderful dream about Malfoy being eaten by the giant squid.


	11. To Fail or Not To Fail

**To fail or not to fail**

The after match euphoria didn't end until the week before the Easter Holidays. Every teacher piled them with homework, revision and threats about what would happen if they failed their exams.

'If I hear one more story about the boy who got T for all his exams, and the teachers decided to put him with real trolls, as he was acting like one, then I'm gonna be sick all over Professor Flitwick,' growled Roxy as they left the Charms classroom, slightly bent backed from all their books and work.

'I know, all the teachers are really getting on my nerves,' replied Jess, while the other two nodded fervently.

'Yes, well they're right,' said Rose, walking towards them with her arms full of books. 'These exams are really important you know, I should of started revising ages ago. Hang on – I should be revising!' She nodded them goodbye, then ran off towards the Library.

'Like mother like daughter,' murmured Lily, watching her go.

'Yeah, and you don't have to live with them,' said a voice behind them. They turned and saw Hugo was also watching her with an expression of distaste. 'Honestly, if I had a Galleon for every time my Mum or sister nagged me about work, I would be the richest man alive. Thank god I have Dad to let me go out and muck around. Well, see you guys round!' Hugo smiled, and ran off to catch up with some friends.

'Come on, let's go and get down to work with this homework before supper,' said Isabella, shifting her bag so it wasn't cutting into her shoulder.

'Okay,' sighed the others, as they trailed back up to the common room.

The teachers gave them so much work to do over the Easter holidays, that it wasn't really a holiday. Lily, Roxy and Jess were usually around the middle to the top of their classes, so kept on top of the work quite well. Isabella, of course, finished all her work in the first week, and so spent the rest of the holiday revising and helping the other three. Sadly, revising and homework couldn't really go together – it was very hard to concentrate on the ingredients of a Sleeping Draft when someone is muttering the twelve uses of dragon blood next to you.

The four girls were some of the few people not getting too stressed out about the exams. Mandy was so scared she actually tried to throw herself off the North Tower, but then got cold feet, went hysterical, and rampaged around the castle smashing bookcases. Charlene kept coming over faint; Hugo had a massive argument Rose over revision; Timothy Ragnort vomited all over his work and books; and most of the rest of the school either shouted at each other and had a break up, or cried hysterically all the time.

Finally the first day of the exams was on them, and by then everyone, was stressed. Rose snapped at anyone who talked to her while she was reading (e.g. all the time), and everyone seemed to be reciting something, whether it be the wand motions for Charms, or the names of the generals in the Fifth Goblin War.

The first exam was Transfiguration. Lily thought she did the theory quite well, except she forgot the concepts of transfiguring a macaw into a mouth organ. The practical went okay, Lily's willow patterned plate transfigured relatively well into a tortoise, except it was rather flat. Lily came out feeling rather pleased with herself.

Sadly, it was History of Magic next. Lily ended up guessing and making up most of the answers, but then, no one cared what her mark was in History of Magic, as everyone understood how boring it was.

The second day had Charms and Potions. Charms was good – Lily did fine in the theory, and in the practical she managed to make her banana cartwheel along most of the desk, except it kind of flopped over three quarters of the way along.

Potions was alright. Her Poison Antidote was okay, except that instead of a lime green colour, it was khaki. But Professor Draft, the examiner, gave it a nod, so Lily thought she hadn't done too badly. But she completely mixed up the ingredients for the potion in the theory, saying that poisons had bezoars, instead of antidotes.

The rest of the exams were fine, but Lily probably did best in Defence Against The Dark Arts. She got most of the questions right, and managed to defeat the examiner in the practical. Isabella was amazing, and the examiner was so thoroughly beaten, he is now lying in St Mungo's, thinking he is a teapot.

The results came out the week after the end of the exams. Lily's were good; she got Exceeds Expectations in most subjects, apart from a couple of Outstandings and a Poor in History of Magic. Roxy got the same, except she got only one O. Jess got exactly the same results as Lily, except she got Acceptable in History of Magic. Isabella, of course, got Outstanding in everything.

'So, disappointed with your results, Isabella?' joked Roxy. Strangely, Isabella didn't smile, but merely twitched her mouth and busied herself with her eggs and bacon.

'What's up with Isabella at the moment?' asked Jess, as Isabella disappeared at top speed with only a hurried 'To the library.'

'She's worried. She hasn't found a family yet, and it's only a few weeks until the end of term. I'm really worried too, because, I mean, she can't just spend all her school holidays going from friend's house to friend's house,' replied Lily, frowning after Isabella.

'Not much we can do, really. I mean can you think of a family?' asked Roxy.

'No... unless ... but I'm not sure ... wait, I need to send an owl!' said Lily, rummaging in her bag and running off to the Owlery.

'Why are our friends not telling us anything?' complained Roxy to Jess, who grimaced and sighed.


	12. The Idea

**A New Family**

Lily stood at the top of the Owlery tower, looking out of the window. She was thinking hard, and trying to think what and who she should write her letter to.

The letter was on a very delicate subject – her friend's family. Isabella Riddle, an orphan, had no family and refused to go back to the orphanage where she grew up. She was trying to find a family to adopt her, and so far had no luck.

But Lily had an idea. Her uncle, Charlie, had married five years ago, but both he and his wife were too old to have kids, even though they desperately wanted some. So Lily had hit upon the idea of them adopting Isabella.

Now, to most people, it would sound like a sketchy idea. But that Christmas, Isabella and Charlie had met, and they got on really well. It was worth a try.

But the letter was still hard to write. The final copy looked like this:

Dear Charlie,

Do you remember my friend, Isabella? Did she tell you that she is an orphan, and is looking for a new family? Well, she is, and so far, she's had no luck, and it's drawing to the end of the year.

Okay, this may sound weird, but you and Lara are looking to adopt, and from what I saw at Christmas, you both really liked Isabella. So, I was wondering, would you consider adopting Isabella? She's a really nice girl, smart, funny, nice, and one of my best friends.

Please think about it, and reply soon,

Love,

Lily L. Potter.

Lily rolled up the parchment, and tied it to Apollo, her owl.

'It's to Charlie, okay? And get there fast – this is important,' murmured Lily. She held her arm out of the window, helping Apollo take flight. She watched him until he was nothing but a speck in the sky.

Are you going to tell us why you ran off?' asked Roxy impatiently that evening. They were sitting in the common room before bed.

Lily glanced quickly at Isabella, and then shook her head.

'I want to know whether it will work first. You'll know soon enough,' she replied.

Two days later Apollo was back at breakfast, with a letter from Charlie. Lily stuffed it in her bag before anyone could grab it and read it, and disappeared off on her own to read his answer.

Huddled in a dark corner of the library, Lily excitedly opened the letter and read it.

**Dear Lily,**

**Of course we would love to adopt Isabella. I was thinking about it myself, as was Lola. **

**Ask McGonagall if she would let you and Isabella down to Hogsmede in the next weekend, so we can talk, and see if it's alright with Isabella. Come to the Three Broomsticks.**

**Please send the next Hogsmede weekend date soon, and whether McGonagall will let you go. **

**Love, **

**Charlie and ****Lara.**

Happily, Lily folded up the letter and slipped it into her robes for safe keeping.

'Thank god! We were worried about where you had gone!' said Jess as Lily skipped into Herbology five minutes late.

'Yes, Potter, I wish you to be more prompt next time,' reprimanded Professor Longbottom.

Lily just nodded – nothing could dampen her mood – then whispered to Roxy and Jess:

'I need to speak to you two in private – without Isabella.'

They nodded, and Roxy murmured:

'Owlery, after lunch. Isabella will be at the library.'

Sure enough, as soon as Isabella had finished her pie, she quickly mumbled something about the library, and disappeared off.

'Come on, let's go,' whispered Jess.

'Okay, what's this all about?' asked Roxy when they reached the library.

'I've had the best idea! I know who can adopt Isabella,' cried Lily.

'Who?' asked Roxy and Jess in union.

'Charlie, of course! Listen,' she said as they looked sceptical. 'Charlie and Isabella really like each other, and anyway, I've already sent a letter to Charlie, and he's agreed. Look, you can read it.' She handed them the letter, which they read with growing smiles.

'Lily, you're a genius!' cried Jess.

'Why thank you!' laughed Lily.

'The next Hogsmede weekend is this coming weekend, and we might as well go see McGonagall now,' said Roxy happily.

'Cool, come on, let's go!'

McGonagall was in her office, and quickly agreed to let them go.

'As it is special circumstances. But I am afraid I can only let Potter and Riddle go. Yes, I'm sorry,' she said, seeing Jess and Roxy's disappointed looks. 'But you will have to wait a while longer. Now Potter, I'm sure your brothers will be willing to escort you and Miss Riddle to the Three Broomsticks. So send that owl back to your Uncle as quickly as possible. Also, five points to Gryffindor each!' The three girls grinned at each other. 'Well off you go then!'

'Lily, will you please tell me why we are suddenly allowed to go to Hogsmede?' asked Isabella.

'No, you'll see when you get there! Come on, Albus and James will be waiting,' replied Lily impatiently.

Sure enough, Albus was waiting with his friends Zach Jordan and Rose Weasley, while James waiting with _his _friends, Ed Wilkernen and Aaron Camberwell. It had become quite a crowd, and they attracted some stares as they headed off down to Hogsmede. One prefect even stopped them and asked why two first years were allowed to Hogsmede.

'Special circumstances,' replied James smoothly, handing him the note from McGonagall. The prefect raised one eyebrow, snorted derisively, but handed the note back to James and walked on.

'The word of McGonagall rules over all, including the almighty prefects with their over-stuffed heads,' muttered Albus, causing the entire group to snigger loudly.

'Okay, we're here,' said Rose as they reached the Three Broomsticks. James winked at Lily, and then disappeared off into Hogsmede's Weasley's wizard Wheezes with his friends. Albus headed for Honeydukes. They wanted to give Isabella and Lily some privacy.

Charlie was waiting for them inside, in the corner. Isabella smiled when she saw him, but her face quickly dropped back to a confused frown. Lily just grinned.

'Okay...,' said Lily finally. 'Isabella, Roxy, Jess and I all know about the fact you can't find a new family, and, well, we came up with an idea.' She let Charlie carry on.

'Isabella, I married five years ago to a woman called Lara. We both want children, but we are too old. So we are looking to adopt.'

Charlie stopped, and looked Isabella straight in the eye.

'Isabella, we would both love it if you could become our daughter.'


	13. A New Family

**A New Family**

**Guess what happens in this one!**

Isabella's hands flew to her mouth, and, if it was possible, she went even paler then she usually was.

'R – Really? You would adopt me?' she whispered finally. Her grey eyes went slightly shiny, as if tears were welling up. One pearly tear did break free, and trickled down her cheek.

'Isabella, of course we would. You are the only girl we could ever consider adopting. Would you accept us as parents?' asked Charlie.

'Of course I would! I've been dreaming about it for months, ever since I met you and Lara at Christmas!' cried Isabella. More tears joined the first.

'Then it's settled!' laughed Lily. 'Come on, let's go outside. The others will be dying to know.'

James, Albus and their friends had sure enough gathered between WWW and Honeydukes, and were currently showing each other their purchases. As soon as they noticed Isabella, Charlie and Lily, they rushed over and surrounded them.

'Did it work? Are you going to adopt Isabella?' asked Zach frantically.

'Yes! Yes, they are! Now run off and give them some alone time. And if you get back to the castle before us, don't you dare tell Roxy and Jess,' cried Lily, shooing them all away.

'Um, Charlie, or Dad, you said I am the only _girl_ you would ever consider adopting. Does this mean I have a brother?' asked Isabella.

Charlie grinned sheepishly. 'Well, yes, your right. We are also adopting Max, nine years old, also a wizard. Really nice little boy. Lara's actually going to bring him down tomorrow, to meet you.'

Isabella grinned even more widely. 'So yesterday I had no family, now I have a mother, father _and _a little brother!'

'Yes, weird, isn't it?' said Charlie. 'Anyway, I need to go back to work, but I'll see you tomorrow!' He gave them both a quick hug, then turned and disapparated into thin air.

'Oh my god you have no idea how happy I am,' murmured Isabella as she watched him go.

'Yeah... Anyway, as we are here, shall we explore Hogsmede? We're not exactly going to get another chance like this for a while,' said Lily.

'Okay, might as well!' laughed Isabella.

Two hours later Isabella and Lily were heading up to the castle with their pockets loaded with sweets and tricks.

'Every first year is going to be _so _jealous when they see what _we _have!' sniggered Lily.

'Yep. I would have to rate this as one of the best days of my life!' laughed Isabella.

When they got to the common room, they were attacked by Jess and Roxy.

'It worked? Charlie and Lara are going to adopt you?' asked Jess excitedly.

Isabella nodded, and Jess leapt about a foot in the air, shouting 'YESSSSS!' while Roxy did a victory dance. Soon the entire Gryffindor Common Room was interested, and Lily and Isabella had to retell the story about a hundred times.

'Oh go away you lot!' said Roxy finally. 'Come on; let's try out some of the stuff you bought.'

Isabella had had to do an Undetectable Engorgement Charm on her and Lily's pockets, so the amount of sweets and joke products which were pulled out almost covered their dorm's carpet.

'Okay, this stuff is just too cool!' laughed Roxy as she tried a Fizzing Whizzbee and immediately levitated a few feet off the ground.

'Come on, we'd better go down to lunch,' said Isabella finally.

The next day Charlie turned up at the school with his wife Lara and recently adopted son Max.

Lara was relatively pretty, with long light brown hair, warm brown eyes and laugh lines. Max had dark brown-black curls, mischievous blue eyes and a cheeky smile. But he looked nice, and as soon as he saw Isabella he ran up to her and cried 'Sister!'

Isabella spent the day getting to know her knew family, and when she came up for bed regaled her dorm about the attributes and fun things she did that day.

'Hey, Isabella, have you thought about this yet? We're going to be _cousins_!' said Roxy.

'Yes, I have thought about that actually. Isn't it weird?' replied Isabella.

'The Weasleys and Potters now outnumber the other people in our dorm!' laughed Lily.

At that moment, a rather irate prefect poked her head in and snapped at them to go to sleep, so the conversation had to stop for that night.

The next morning, McGonagall gave Isabella a pile of paperwork to fill in, which was joked around with a lot at the dinner table.

Suddenly the end of term was on them, and the last week was a frenzy of packing, discovering lost items and exchanging contacts.

'This year has gone so fast!' cried Roxy as she stuffed clothes pell-mell into her trunk.

'Yeah – who hid my prized pink makeup in my sheets?' asked Charlene furiously while the rest of the dorm sniggered.

Finally the last day came, the train pulled into the station and there was a large scrum to get compartments. Luckily Lily and her friends found a compartment to themselves, and promptly proceeded to have a loud game of exploding snap and use any leftover sweets and products from Lily and Isabella's fateful trip to Hogsmede.

The journey passed surprisingly smoothly compared to the first one, where Scorpius Malfoy came out of it with a bloody nose and a bad temper.

When the train pulled into Platform 9 ¾, Isabella was the most excited to get off the train. She flew into Charlie and Lara's arms, hugged Max and went around for a week with a massive beam on her face.

As they watched her fly off the train, Lily, Jess and Roxy glanced at each other with smiles on their faces.

Their friend was happy. All was well.


End file.
